Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
by driver picks the music
Summary: The wars are over and it's Christmas time again, will Bass be left out in the cold or will he find a way to have himself a Merry Little Christmas with the ones he cares about most?
1. Chapter 1

**So I was listening to my new Jason Manns Christmas Album, and on it the lovely and wonderful Jensen Ackles sings Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, and it's such a wonderful version and I was listening to it on repeat, because that's what I do when I find a song I really like until I don't like it anymore...lol And the idea for this story popped into my head. This is the first chapter of a three part story. I'm about half finished with the second chapter and will post it later tonight or some time tomorrow and will post the final chapter on Christmas, if not before.**

**I hope you enjoy this, I've been having a lot of fun writing it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Revolution, or the Town of Pendleton Indiana, though I have a pretty good claim on it since I've lived there most of my life :)**

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><p>Sebastian Monroe popped his collar to cover more of his neck, pulling his worn leather jacket closed and shoved his hands in his pockets, as he wondered down the snow covered street.<p>

The war with the patriots had taken more than they had hoped for, more time and people. Everyone had lost someone it seemed. Gene was taken from them when the patriots fired upon the medical tent that he had been inside of treating the wounded. They had counted on the loss of a doctor being a blow, but when the patriots learned that the loss was especially strong for some of the people that were at the head of "the pack" that opposed them, the patriots counted the victory even higher.

After realizing that the others had been right all along about Tom Neville, Connor had come back to the group, seeking forgiveness from his father as well as the others, and it was with them, by their sides that he fought to stop the khaki covered SOB's.

It wasn't until the fight against the nano that they lost him for the final time. He died a hero, fighting the good fight and sacrificing himself to save the life of Priscilla Pittman and Rachel Matheson. Everyone is still a little unsure exactly what happened in his final moments, most of the fight having been witnessed one sided as he fought against the nano that tried to take over his body. They were all assured though by the two women that they, as well as many others, wouldn't be alive if he hadn't been strong enough in the end.

Now here they were almost a year after the fighting had ended, it was Christmas time again and this year they were as close to home as Miles and Bass were comfortable getting. They no longer felt as if they could go home to Jasper, thanks to his actions in the past Bass knew there was no one there to welcome him home, and thanks to Miles forgiveness he knew that he would be shunned right along with Bass. So instead they all found themselves in a little town a days ride from Jasper. The sign over the old town hall building had informed them that the place was called Pendleton. Miles and Bass had both heard of it but had never actually been.

It was a town that time had forgotten, from the looks of it it had been that way before the blackout as well. It drew them all for different reasons, Rachel fell in love with it because of the homey feel the town exuded, Miles liked it because it made Rachel happy and he didn't have any trouble finding a position at the old reformatory that had been turned back into a prison after years of disuse after the blackout. Charlie loved the park, it took up most of the town, and she found that she could hunt plenty of small game in the surrounding woods. She also found a small place to live over an old bar that she had taken a job at before taking over the day to day operation of it completely after the old codger that owned the place saw how good she was with the customers and how she drew in the fellas, young and old alike.

Aaron and Priscilla had found a small farm right on the outskirts of town where they were raising her children, who they had found during the fight against the nano, as well as the baby that was born right after settling into their new place together. They liked the town because there were plenty of children around the girls age for them to befriend. Aaron didn't so much care for the school that he was once again working at, but he took what he could get.

That left Bass. He was here for one simple reason. He didn't care about what kind of job he could get; though he worked right along side Miles like always; or what place he could find to live in, and as much as he liked kids, they didn't factor in one way or the other for him. He was here because as much as they might not see it in him, they were his family, and as pathetic as it might seem to others, he would follow them anywhere.

And because he saw them as family and knew that in some small way at least most of them saw him as part of the group, he would normally horn his way in and not bother waiting for invitations to dinner or some family gathering or another. But this was different, this was Christmas Eve. And this time he just didn't want to bother anyone with his presence if it was unwanted. That would be his gift to everyone, a night without him.

So as the night fell, he found himself wondering through town and watching the families that were out gathering last minute items for their own Holiday celebrations, and he saw some children playing in the park, sledding down the hill, no longer having to worry about the road that lay at the end of it like they would have before the lights went out and all the cars stopped running.

He passed the gazebo that sat in the middle of the park, trying not to think about the one so many miles away that looked so similar, when he noticed Charlie sitting on an old wooden bench swing at the outer edge of the play ground.

Bass stopped in his tracks and watched her as she brushed some hair out of her face, pushing it back behind her ear as a cold wind threatened to blow if forward once again, and he found himself wondering why she was out in the cold without a hat.

If he were being 100% honest, which let's face it rarely happened even in his own head, she was the main reason he was still here. It wasn't really _them_ he would follow anywhere so much as _her_, but damned if he'd ever tell anyone else that.

Here he was, forty-seven years old and he was willing to follow a twenty-five year old girl around like some lovesick teenager. But he accepted it and the fact that his feelings would go unrequited, and as much as he hated that, he was willing to live with it, just to get the chance to be close to her and do whatever he could to bring her some semblance of happiness after being at least partially responsible for so much of the heartache she's had in her short life.

He found female companionship on the occasional nights when the thought of his empty house was too much, the nights when his losses seemed too great and the thought that the one person he really wanted would never be his.

But that's all it ever was. The occasional night. It would never be more than that because he knew it would never be her.

Charlie looked up then and saw him and when she smiled his breath hitched in the back of his throat and he shoved his hands a little farther into his pockets and headed towards her.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked as he sat in the open space beside her, making the swing rock as he adjusted his weight. "It's cold." he added.

Charlie nodded and smiled again. "Yeah, it's colder than I thought it was." she said. She had always loved the cold, it was something that she had missed during her time in Texas.

Bass unwound the scarf he had on, tucked into his jacket and draped it around her neck. "You didn't answer the question." he said, ignoring her look of surprise at his gesture.

Charlie wound the scarf around her neck and smiled softly at him. "I like the cold." she said. She laughed when he raised a brow and she shrugged. "OK I was actually looking for you."

If she had told him she was hunting a polar bear, he wouldn't have been more surprised.

"Why were you looking for me?" he asked, the surprise evident in his voice.

Charlie shrugged again. "I was at mom's when she asked Miles if you were coming over for dinner and when he said he didn't know, he hadn't seen you all day, I took that as my opportunity to make a break for it and get a respite from all the holiday cheer that Rachel has been pushing at us."

Bass snorted at that making Charlie laugh. He loved that sound.

"So?" she asked.

He cocked his head. "So what?" he asked.

Charlie rolled her eyes and he smiled. Whether they were fighting or laughing; and they did a lot of both, he may be completely in love with her but she still infuriated him on a regular basis; he loved getting a reaction out of her. Everything just seemed easier when it was the two of them.

"So are you coming to dinner?" she asked, talking as if she were asking a young child.

"Rachel actually wanted to know if I was going to be there? Not like she was going to be disappointed if I showed up, but like she was just genuinely curious?" he asked.

Charlie smirked and nodded. "I know, it's a Christmas miracle." she said.

He smirked along with her, but inside they both knew this was a big deal. He and Rachel had come to an unspoken understanding. They both cared about the same people, so they would put up with the other one for all of them. They didn't always make it easy on the other of course. He made snarky comments and she made snide remarks and more often than not he ended up leaving whatever gathering they were at early; be it the bar where Charlie worked that they all frequented or just an evening spent at Miles house; to avoid a real fight.

Which is why they both knew that they would never be friends like they had been once upon a time, too much had been done from both sides for that to ever be an option.

So now, for her to be willing to open her home to him on Christmas, that was an olive branch he had never expected to receive.

"So?" Charlie asked again and he smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'll be there for dinner." he said.

Charlie nodded once and turned to look out over the snow covered playground. Night had fallen completely, and sometime while they sat talking it had started to snow.

Charlie tipped her head back and watched the flakes fall for a moment before she stood up and held her hand out to him. "Come on then, they'll be wondering what's taking so long."

Bass reached a hand out and grabbed hers, letting her pull him up. To his surprise; he's had a lot of those tonight; she let go of his hand and wrapped an arm around his waist, dragging him through the snow with her.

He laughed; a sound not heard often from his lips; and put his arm around her shoulders and walked along beside her.

As they walked down the street, the snow falling around them, Bass wondered what had gotten into the woman under his arm. They were friends, sure, and like with most friends they had their moments of levity and silliness, but there was something different about her tonight. The easy smiles and the playful way she threw her arm around him and then proceeded to leave it there. He wasn't complaining, but this was not normal Charlie behavior.

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter.<strong>

**And remember...**

**Reviews make you AWESOME!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here you go you pushy people! :P I hope you liked chapter 2 has much as you seemed to like chapter 1. I haven't started chapter 3 yet but I'll get on that later. Until then Chapter 2 will have to tide you over...and here's a Santa Claus you keep you company! 0{}:o)}**

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><p>Charlotte Matheson walked down the snow covered street; fat white flakes falling around her; with one hand shoved in her pocket and the other wrapped around the waist of the man that walked beside her.<p>

She's not sure when it happened but at some point along the way, Sebastian Monroe had become her friend. Not only that, he had become her best friend. He was the one that she could always talk to, the one that she knew would always be there for her no matter what.

They had fought side by side during the wars, both with the patriots and with the nano. They had mourned the loss of their loved ones together, more than once sharing a bottle of whatever they could find, passing it back and forth between them as they sat around a fire.

Then after they had settled here, when she needed help moving the old couch in her apartment, he was the one she asked. When she was having trouble with a customer at work, a guy that just didn't want to take no for an answer, he was the one that set the guy straight and then hung out late every night for the next week to make sure he had really gotten the message. Not that she needed someone to handle a customer for her really, most everyone in town knew of her reputation and while it wasn't quite as colorful as Bass' or Miles', they all knew that she had been trained and fought along side them and could take care of herself, but it was nice to have the extra muscle around anyway.

And when she had a fight with her mother about some topic that was better left alone, he was the one that she would sit and complain to, knowing that she could say anything she wanted about Rachel and he would never judge her or try to make her feel guilty for the way she felt.

Every time she needed someone it was him, Monroe. Bass.

It wasn't until recently that she realized that something had changed and somewhere along the lines; don't ask her when because the hell if she had any idea; she had developed what could only be described as _feelings_ for the former dictator.

She honestly has no idea when her feelings towards the man changed from friendship to something more, but she knew they had when she saw him leaving the bar one night with Sophie Jones, the woman who came in a few nights a week and sang for tips.

When she saw them leave together she had felt as if the air had been sucked out of the room. Sure she had seen him with some of the other women from around town, and yes she knew the kind of things they were doing together; she might be young but she's not stupid. But that night, seeing him leave her bar with another woman, it hit her just how much she didn't like him spending time with someone else.

But as much as she hated seeing him go off with other women, she pushed those feelings down, because he's Bass and she's Charlie and that's all they would ever be. There were too many different obstacles standing in the way for it to ever be more than that.

Now here they were, on Christmas Eve, walking down the snow covered street together.

She had over heard Aaron and Miles talking a few days before and knew that Christmas was always an especially hard time for Bass. It had been his mothers favorite holiday and as such it was always a big deal in the Monroe household. After they had died the joy of the season had dimmed for him, and it had only gotten worse after the loss of his wife and child.

Christmas in the republic was always a grand affair, but he could never quite find the joy and the charm of the season that his mother had always so readily put forth, seemingly without effort, until he just stopped trying all together.

This year was different though, they were all together and she was going to do her best to make sure that he had as good of a Christmas as possible; even if that involved convincing her mother he should join them for dinner; she was just glad that he was alone tonight instead of with one of the women around town that he had found to occupy his free time with.

She knew he probably thought she had turned into some kind of crazy person, but she wanted to be happy tonight. There had been enough heartache and bad moods to last them all a life time and she was going to do her best to lighten the mood, if only for one night. They could all go back to being broody and snarky and sarcastic with each other after Christmas.

So she had smiled and laughed and joked around and when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders instead of pulling away from her, she found that she wasn't really having to work to keep the happy smile on her face.

"I've always loved the snow." He said before tipping his head back and stuck his tongue out to catch some of the flakes on it.

Charlie laughed and pulled her hand out of her pocket to wave as a couple of the shop keepers who were closing up for the night saw them and chuckled at the pair walking down the street.

She pulled her arm from around his waist and held both hands out to her sides as she tipped her head back and stuck her tongue out as well. They both laughed as they staggered though the street as the each tried to catch the biggest flakes.

"You know, Danny and I always loved the snow too. We always tried to see who could build the biggest snowman." she said as they came back together, arms going back around the other in silent agreement, both seeking the warmth the other provided.

Bass looked down at her surprised once again; Danny was another on an unspoken list of topics they never broached. For Charlie to bring him up now made Bass feel almost nervous and he didn't want to say the wrong thing and ruin the mood, so instead he let her do the talking.

"He always won." she said and shrugged one shoulder as she smiled up at him. "I might have let him win every once in a while."

Bass smiled down at her. This was a side of Charlie that he rarely got to see and he found himself liking it more and more.

Charlie sighed when she realized that they were almost to the house her mom shared with Miles and her time alone with him was almost over.

It was moments like this when she felt almost ridiculous. She had never been the kind of girl to become moony over a boy. There had been boys in the past that she had cared about and if you asked her, she would tell you without hesitation that Jason Neville was her first love. Because she _had_ loved him. But she knew now, as she looked at the man beside her, that that had been a childs love. She had been a child.

But she wasn't a child any longer and Bass was far from a boy and what she felt for him was real and it was grown, the kind of love that a woman feels for a man.

Only what was she supposed to do about that? What is she supposed to do about the feelings she has for the man that obviously doesn't feel the same if the women he flaunts in front of her are any indication?

She'll do what she has done for months now. She will push those feelings aside and be his friend. She will smile and be happy to be the one that can make him smile and be happy on a day that he has always reserved for sadness.

Bass tugged her closer with the arm around her shoulder, bringing her out of her thoughts as he smiled down at her once more. "Are you ready to go inside?" he asked.

Charlie nodded and pulled away, not knowing that he missed the warmth of her body pressed to his just as much as she did.

"Yeah." she said with a smile as she reached for the door. "This should be interesting." she said quietly to herself. Praying; as she led him into the house; for that Christmas miracle they had joked about before.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading, you guys are all amazing!<strong>

**And remember...**

**Reviews make you AWESOME!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Merry Christmas!**

**So I meant to have this done hours ago, but it's Christmas, so you know...family drama got in the way and that always puts a damper on the creativity. But things calmed down and I found a new version of the song that I was using, this one sung by Keith Urban (and if you know me at all you know I LOVE him!) and that helped to get the juices flowing again.**

**So without further ado...**

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><p>"Well that was fun." Bass said as Charlie closed the door behind them. They had made it all the way thought dinner and were all sitting around the living room; enjoying the warm fire and some eggnog that Rachel had thrown together; before he and Rachel had gotten into what would later be called a "spirited debate" and Charlie offered to walk him home on her way back to her own place.<p>

Charlie looked at him, wondering if he was being sarcastic, but she smiled when she saw what looked like genuine happiness on his face. A look that she had noticed more and more on him over the last few months.

Charlie nodded as they walked side by side, their hands hanging at their sides, almost touching but not quite, the easy they had used to wrap their arms around each other before gone. "Yeah it was, and we got out of there just in the nick of time to avoid a real fight." she said with a chuckle.

Bass smirked. "I'm curious about something though." he said and Charlie raised her brows as she kicked at a rock visible though the snow.

"When Miles was dragging your mom out of the room, Rachel said something that got me thinking." he said

Charlie looked up at him, her brows still raised. "I hope you didn't hurt yourself."

"Haha." he said. "Really though, she said something about how she didn't really want me to come over anyway, and at first I figured it was Miles idea for me to come, but then I thought," he stopped walking and placed a hand on her arm to stop her as well. "if that were the case why wouldn't you just tell me that?" he asked. "What was with the made up story?"

Charlie sighed and rolled her eyes. "Alright, it was my idea, I just figured you wouldn't come if you thought mom didn't want you there."

Bass cocked his head slightly to the side. "Why was it so important that I come over? I never make a big deal out of Christmas anyway." he told her.

Charlie nodded and looked away for a moment. "My dad," she said, her gaze still averted from his. "he always made Christmas this huge event. Everyone around would come over for his Christmas Eve party." she smiled at the memories. "Even Old Man Abernathy that ran the market, he would show up at our house and bring me and Danny each a piece of candy; it was the one day out of the whole year he wasn't a complete grouch."

she turned back to him now. "My dad always said that it was because Christmas is when you put the past away, even if it's only for a little while, and you focus on now; a memo my mother obviously didn't get; but you try so you can have fun with your friends and family." she said. "And for me, that includes you now."

Charlie shrugged. "I care about you; as crazy as that probably is; and I just wanted you to have a new Christmas memory with the family you have now that could make you happy." she finished in rush, feeling like a stupid kid all of the sudden.

Bass wasn't sure what to say. He was almost afraid of the feeling of hope her words gave him. Hope that just maybe there was a small chance that she returned even a little of the feelings he had.

"Charlie." he said as he reached out a hand and laid it on her cheek, his thumb stroking the soft skin he found there while his fingers twined through her hair.

He smiled softly when she leaned into his hand slightly. "That's the best gift anyone has given me in a really long time." Going out of her way to include him was something that nobody had done for him since he was a kid, and something that he had never expected to get again.

At some point while they were standing on the snow covered street; just the two of them lost in their own little world; they had moved closer together so there was now only an inch of space between them.

"That's what I was going for." Charlie said with a little smirk.

Bass continued to smile softly, not letting her make light of the moment. "What can I give you?" he asked causing Charlie to raise her brows. "To make you happy? What can I give to you?"

Charlie searched his gaze for a moment before; feeling bold like the Charlie that had ruthlessly slain her enemies; she reached up and grabbed his jacked and pulled him down, standing up on her toes she met him half way. Her mouth opening for him as she finally went after the one thing she really wanted for Christmas. Him.

Bass still had one hand in her hair and as she pressed herself to him, his free hand wound around her waist to rest on the small of her back, pressing her that much closer.

Forget what he said before. This, right here, was the best present he had ever gotten.

When the need for air became to great, Charlie pulled her mouth from his, her eyes still closed as she tried to catch her breath.

Bass leaned his forehead against hers and waited for her to speak.

"That." she said. "That's what will make me happy." she said as she opened her eyes and leaned away slightly; not enough to break the connection between her body and his but enough to look at him.

It was his turn to close his eyes as he shook his head slightly and took a half step back, just enough to put that inch of space back between them.

"It shouldn't." he said as he opened his eyes again. "You shouldn't want this, you shouldn't want me." he said, hating the way the smile faded from her face and the pain his own words were causing him, but knowing that he was right. As much as he longed for her, she shouldn't want him.

Now that she had finally made it known what she wanted, she wasn't going to back down so easily. "Why shouldn't I want you?" she asked.

Bass dropped his hands from her and shook his head again. "Because the one thing you're mom and I agree on, is the fact that I'm not a good man Charlie." he said. "I know just how much blood I have on my hands, I know _who's_ blood I have on my hands." he said and she knew he meant Ben and Danny. Maybe even Nora.

Charlie narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't think for one minute that I have forgotten about that blood." she said. "But it's not just on your hands, it's on Miles' and Rachel's." she said, getting angry that he would try to use this as an excuse. "Hell it's even on mine."

She reached out and placed a hand on his face and softened her tone and her eyes as she looked at him. "You might not think you're a good man," she said. "but you're no worse than the rest of us."

And just like that, that hope he had feared before returned, giving him a second chance. One that; as long as she realized what she was getting herself into; he was willing to take.

Charlie dropped her hand and cleared her throat. "Now I'm pretty confident I know the answer to this but I'm going to ask it anyway and get to the point since it's freezing out here." she said and in spite of himself, Bass smiled.

"I think it's pretty clear that I want you." she said and his smile widened. "Now I need to know, do you want me too?"

"Yeah." he said simply. "I do."

Charlie smiled again. "See? Now was that really so hard?" she asked as she grabbed his hand and headed down the street once again.

Bass threw his head back and laughed; a genuinely happy laugh; as he let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side as they headed for her apartment.

...

Later; as they lay together on the bed in her room, the blankets pulled up around them to keep out the chilly night air that came in through the drafty old window; Bass pulled her close to his chest, his nose nuzzling into her hair, breathing her in.

Charlie turned over so she could see him and smiled, knowing there was just enough light shining in from the bright moon outside her window for him to see. "What are you thinking?" she asked as she trapped her hands between them, using his body heat to keep her fingers warm.

Bass brushed some hair from her face and smiled. "That tonight turned out a lot different; better; than I thought it would." he said. "Maybe Christmas isn't so bad after all."

Charlie snuggled in closer and laid her head on his arm and closed her eyes.

Things were going to be different come morning. They both knew it wasn't going to be all hearts and flowers from here on out, things were going to be hard. But Charlie also knew that the best things never came easily.

And for tonight, there wasn't anything they could do about it anyway, so there was only one thing left to say.

"Merry Christmas Bass."

"Merry Christmas Charlie"

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><p><strong>You guys have all been amazing with your response to this little story. I'm so glad that you have all enjoyed it since I had such a great time writing it.<strong>

**I sincerely wish you all A Merry Little Christmas.**

**And once again, Remember...**

**Reviews make you AWESOME!**


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